A motorist has been injured after a concrete block was dropped on to his car from a bridge. The 23-year-old man was driving along the A442 in Telford, Shropshire, when the block smashed through his windscreen and landed on the rear seat of his car as he travelled under the Stafford Road bridge.

The man suffered bruising to his ribs and was left shaken by the incident, police said. But he was able to maintain control of the car and pulled over on to the hard shoulder, from where he contacted the police.

West Mercia police are now appealing for witnesses to the incident, which happened at around 10pm on Friday night. Officers are keen to speak to a lorry driver who was on the road at the same time and who may have witnessed the incident.

Officers are also examining CCTV footage to identify any possible suspects.

"The driver on this occasion was extremely lucky he was not injured more severely and that he was able to keep control of his vehicle. It was also extremely lucky that there were no passengers in the car."

The incident follows two others in Essex in December last year when blocks were thrown on to two separate cars on a stretch of the A12, London to Colchester road. Police are still investigating.

Carol Manley, 57, suffered severe facial and chest injuries when a bucket-sized piece of concrete was dropped on to her vehicle as she was driving with her husband, Steve.

The pair were hit just 40 minutes after mother-of-two Lisa Horne, 26, escaped unharmed when a rock the size of a football smashed on to her windscreen.

The incidents happened at West Hanningfield Bridge near Galleywood and Fryerning Lane bridge at Ingatestone.